Thousands of pounds in compensation have been awarded to a St Albans man after he suffered injuries when a set collapsed onto him at the Roundhouse theatre in London.

Nicholas Mackay-Grant is believed to have received £5,500 in the out-of-court settlement, after successful legal action by lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.

The 49 year old was one of a number of people injured during a performance at the acrobatic Fuerzabruta show in January 2014, when a spinning sail became detached from its rigging due to a connection failure and landed in the audience at the Camden venue.

In a statement, the law firm said that Nicholas had suffered a ‘terrifying’ ordeal when the set fell onto him.

The scenery which collapsed was a stand-alone structure brought to the theatre for use in the production of Fuerzabruta.

Nicholas received the four-figure payout as he suffered injuries to his left shoulder and back - he was treated at the scene by paramedics.

Although he has received treatment from an osteopath, which has helped his symptoms to improve, he still struggles with pain in his shoulder and back when lifting heavy items.

He said: “The accident was terrifying and a complete shock to me and everyone else in the audience that night. As soon as the set landed on us I felt excruciating pain in my shoulder.

“I was left in severe pain for a number of weeks and went through a year of treatment and rehabilitation.

“The incident had a significant impact on my life and I struggled to do a number of everyday tasks, including household chores, looking after my children and taking them on bike rides, which I used to do regularly.

“The last 18 months have been extremely frustrating for me and I’m relieved that I can now start to put the incident behind me and move on with my life.”

Nicholas instructed Irwin Mitchell, which also represented members of the public injured when the Apollo Theatre ceiling collapsed in December 2013, to investigate the incident at the Roundhouse, and secure funds to help cover the costs of his rehabilitation.

The firm secured a four-figure out-of-court settlement after the insurers of Concert Productions International B.V, the production company responsible for the show, admitted liability for the incident.

Fuerzabruta was responsible for the scenery and maintenance checks before productions.

Katrina Elsey, a personal injury specialist at Irwin Mitchell who represented Nicholas said: “This was an absolutely terrifying ordeal for Nicholas and the other members of the audience who were injured when the set collapsed.

“The injuries and pain he suffered as a result affected him for a number of months and had a significant impact on his day-to-day life. We are delighted to have secured him funds that will cover the cost of his treatment and rehabilitation.

“We now hope that lessons have been learned from this terrible incident and that the appropriate steps have been taken to ensure the health and safety of audience members is not endangered in the future.”